By Tim Binnall
Love was in the air at a purportedly haunted mansion in Massachusetts last week as a tour of the spooky site culminated with a surprise wedding proposal. According to a local media report, the romantic moment occurred at the S.K. Pierce Haunted Victorian Mansion in the city of Gardner. Constructed in 1875, the historic building has only recently opened its doors to visitors as something of a paranormal attraction, though it has been featured on a variety of television programs by virtue of its suspected resident ghosts.
This proved to be rather fortuitous for Matt Patterson as he had been looking for the ideal place to propose to his girlfriend, Cyleste Johnson, and it just so happens that, like many people this time of year, the pair enjoy spending their weekends going to haunted or supernatural-themed spots and events. As such, this past Tuesday evening when their tour of the mansion concluded, Patterson popped the question to a surprised Johnson, who did not see the proposal coming. Fortunately, the would-be groom's gamble paid off and she said yes, later musing to a local newspaper that "I was super-happy and so excited to marry the one I love."
According to the proprietors of the mansion, the couple are actually the first to get engaged at the historic site, though Johnson now hopes that such proposals could wind up becoming a trend. "Now that people know that it's allowed, it can happen, they're going to do it," she mused, "and not just at the Pierce Mansion, but at places like the Lizzie Borden house." While the setting may sound unconventional, for couples who are fans of the paranormal, the story of getting engaged in a genuine haunted house does make for a fitting and fantastic story for the wedding.